CHILD & MATERNAL HEALTH CARE & SANITATION

Sierra Leone’s average life expectancy is one of the lowest in the world: 42 years. This number is undoubtedly lowered by the rate of infant mortality which is staggeringly high, with one in four children not living past their fifth birthday. It is both dangerous and precarious to be a child, as well as a mother: one in eight women in Sierra Leone dies from pregnancy related complications whereas in industrialized nations, this figure is one in eight thousand.

Following the civil war, Sierra Leone has progressed leaps and bounds in strengthening institutions and repairing damaged infrastructure. Unfortunately, the health care system remains under-resourced, both financially and in personnel, and access to quality health care is costly and largely unavailable. Recently, the Sierra Leonean Government has taken bold strides to provide free universal health care for pregnant women and infants. This policy has been supported internationally through bilateral aid and is noted as a progressive move that other African nations may follow.

Zion Ministries, with assistance from international and local partnerships, has established three temporary and strategically situated a clinic at Banderwa that serve multiple villages providing maternal and child care. These rural clinics treat hundreds of women and children granting access to basic health care previously unavailable in this location. With the assistance of international partnerships, awe look forward to having many more child clinics being built in order to provide a greater scope of access and quality of care to people in remote areas of Sierra Leone. A local effort to care for orphaned and street children has been adopted as part of the Zion Ministries social mission.

Vulnerable Child and Youth Care Program

Though maternal mortality tragically afflicts mothers and families, it arguably affects children most. Although a woman may perish in childbirth, her child may survive – raising questions as to whom, where and how the child will be raised. For many in this resource-poor area, there are few viable options. Zion Ministries is committed to providing services, which are holistic, meeting real and multifaceted needs, which range from basic health and wellbeing to education and livelihood. Understanding that these varied needs are inextricably intertwined - and many originate in childhood - fuels Zion Ministries' fervor to provide healthy lives for youth in need.

Child and Maternal Health and Health Outreach

Our Child and Maternal clinic is serving over 100 women and children each week. This clinic is committed to providing consistent and quality maternal and infant health care through the administration of vaccinations, malaria treatment, nutrition, health education, pre- and post-natal care, feeding services, water and sanitation.

Clinic School Model

As the quest for universal, free health care for women and children is realized in Sierra Leone, issues of access and rural/urban disparities call out for attention. Although a progressive 2010 policy granted women and children across the nation free health care, these services do not always reach those most in need due to issues of rural access.

In rural areas, women may be expected to walk many miles through the day or night, regardless of debilitating physical symptoms or rough terrain, to reach basic health services. When care is available in rural areas, it is often inferior to urban facilities - where government personnel, healthcare professionals, resources, and funding bodies are centralized. Too many women suffer or perish due to health facility inaccessibility, and too many health issues remain untreated due to lack of access to quality care. In a recent needs assessment of Bo, rural access to healthcare was determined the primary health-related issue facing women and children in the region.

Zion Ministries is committed to providing care in harmony with existing health services in rural Bo, as well as extending a network of health support and clinic access to outlying rural villages in the region. By ensuring rural access to health services, a previously vulnerable population of women and children in remote areas can embrace health services equivalent to their urban counterparts. The benefits of this consistency of care and consequent wellbeing will contribute to these communities’ overall health and development.